The glittering sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds that once adorned France’s royals could well be gone forever, experts said Tuesday after a brazen, four-minute heist in broad daylight left the nation stunned and the government struggling to explain a new debacle at the Louvre.

The Louvre has transferred some of its most precious jewels to the Bank of France, according to French radio RTL, after an audacious daylight heist last week exposed the famed museum's security vulnerability.

Does a photo show a well-dressed French detective working the case of the Crown Jewels stolen from the Louvre? No, that's not true: The original poster later said it was a "fantasy version" she did not regret posting.

In a minutes-long strike Sunday inside the Louvre, the world’s most-visited museum, thieves smashed display cases and fled with priceless Napoleonic jewels, officials said.